Mr James Munro

Career

2014-: PhD student, University of Cambridge

2013-2014: Part III student, University of Cambridge (MMath)

2010-2013: Undergraduate student, University of Cambridge (BA)

Research

James is a member of the Institute of Theoretical Geophysics at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. His current research interest is coalescence, especially the coalescence of bubbles, drops or fibres. These surface-tension driven flows often involve large velocities, which makes experiments or numerical simulations difficult, and only mathematical analysis can reveal the underlying physical processes.

For two spherical bubbles initially touching at a point, there's a thin sheet of fluid between the bubbles which surface tension quickly pulls apart. Remarkably, inertia and viscosity are both in balance with the driving surface tension force at early times, and there is a similarity solution for any Reynolds number which balances all three effects. This solution agrees with asymptotic results for high and low Reynolds number, with experimental measurements and with simulations of the full Navier-Stokes equations.